


Drawn to the Flame

by benjaminrussell



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, M/M, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:21:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28150794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benjaminrussell/pseuds/benjaminrussell
Summary: A routine door to door canvas for Carlos and his partner on Christmas Eve turns into an on foot pursuit into the woods, where Carlos then runs into the last person he was expecting to see. The sun is rapidly setting and there's still a killer on the loose, so will they make it home for Christmas day?
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Comments: 2
Kudos: 82
Collections: 911 Gift Exchange 2020





	Drawn to the Flame

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tkxcarlos](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Tkxcarlos).



> Happy holidays, [Tyler/tkxcarlos](https://tkxcarlos.tumblr.com/) \- here's your gift! Hope you enjoy! 😊
> 
> Thanks to [myemergence](https://archiveofourown.org/users/myemergence/pseuds/myemergence) for beta reading and thanks to [myemergence](https://archiveofourown.org/users/myemergence/pseuds/myemergence) and [Jecari](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jecari/pseuds/Jecari) for helping me brainstorm. ❤

Christmas Eve saw Carlos going door to door with his partner, Georgiana, in a neighbourhood out in the suburbs. The houses were all decked out for the holiday season, albeit mostly on the restrained end of the scale, and the atmosphere made Carlos wish that he was at his parents’ house with his extended family. At least he had Christmas Day off.

He moved on to the next house on the street and knocked on yet another door, pasting a smile on his face just in time for the owner to pull the door open and eye Carlos and Georgie with badly concealed interest. An older white woman, she was presumably one of the people they often encountered when going door to door, who saw the arrival of the police as an indication that there was gossip to be had.

“Hello ma’am, I’m Officer Reyes and this is Officer Kelly. We’re going door to door and just have a couple of quick questions if you don’t mind.”

“Of course, ask away officers.” She gave them a cheery smile, probably just stopping short of inviting them in for iced tea.

"Did you hear or see anything out of the ordinary between two and three am on December twenty first?" Carlos repeated the question they’d been asking everyone, his notebook in hand just in case the woman had heard something.

“Oh no, I’m always fast asleep at that time.” She looked briefly apologetic, before asking, “Has something happened? Do I need to be worried?”

“You don’t need to be worried, ma’am,” Georgie reassured her. “We’re investigating a missing person’s case.”

Carlos held out the photo of the victim. “Have you seen this woman?”

The old woman examined the photo for a few moments, but then shook her head, just like everyone else they’d spoken to so far. The detective on the case said they’d had a report that the victim was last seen in this neighbourhood, but so far Carlos and Georgie hadn’t found any witnesses to back that up.

“Okay, thank you for your time.” Carlos bade the woman goodbye, and then followed Georgie back down the path and along to the next house. Georgie took the lead this time, knocking on the door as Carlos hung a couple of steps back. Just as she was about to knock again, there was the rattle of a chain being pulled back and the door opened to reveal a broad-shouldered man approximately in his late thirties. In an instant, recognition hit as they were confronted with a face that looked remarkably similar to the sketch of the suspect that was stuck up on the case board in the precinct.

“Excuse me, sir-” As soon as Georgie started speaking, the man attempted to slam the door, only to be foiled by Georgie jamming her boot in the way, and then the man turned and fled.

“You go round the back!”

Carlos was already running for the side of the house as Georgie pushed her way inside, hopefully to chase the suspect into Carlos’ waiting arms. Carlos barged through the garden gate and sprinted for the back of the house, only to see the suspect already running through the garden. Damn, the man was fast!

“He’s going for the woods out back!” Carlos called into his radio as he ran since there was no sign of Georgie yet, and if he waited for her, he’d be sure to lose the suspect. He vaulted over the fence at the bottom of the garden a few seconds after the suspect and followed him through the treeline, pace slowing slightly as he had to avoid low hanging branches and the odd bit of undergrowth. Weaving through the trees, he managed to keep fairly close behind the man he was chasing for a while, right up until he had to dodge to avoid a rock the suspect scooped up and threw at him. The distraction caused him to catch his foot on a root, the momentum sending him head over heels, and by the time he’d managed to scramble back to his feet, the suspect was nowhere to be seen. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like he had sprained his ankle or anything, but that was the only positive. 

Several minutes of walking through the woods only served to confirm that the suspect had managed to lose Carlos, presumably knowing the area a lot better than Carlos himself did, and there was still no sign of Georgie. Also, it was starting to get dark, making his job even more difficult. As he was about to reach for his flashlight, he heard a branch snapping and then faint footsteps. He froze and listened for a moment to determine the direction the noise was coming from, before carefully and quietly making his way towards the noise. Stepping out from behind a tree, he spotted the silhouette of a figure, roughly the size of the suspect, and immediately trained his gun on them, getting close enough that they couldn’t escape easily before calling out.

“Police! Put your hands on your head and get on your knees!”

The person immediately complied but spoke just as Carlos got close enough to realise that they weren’t actually the suspect. “I’m an on-duty firefighter!”

The next moment, as the voice sent a flash of recognition through his brain, Carlos caught sight of the back of the person’s coat – it was clearly a turn out coat and emblazoned across the bottom was ‘TK STRAND’.

“TK?” Carlos lowered his gun, pointing it safely at the ground but not putting it away in case the suspect was still nearby. “What are you doing here?”

“Carlos?” TK twisted to look up at Carlos, lowering his hands and getting back to his feet at the same time. “We got a call that someone had run off the road and crashed into a tree. I saw movement in the woods, so I went to check it out in case there’d been another victim who’d wandered off. What are you doing here?”

“Chasing a suspect from the neighbourhood back there.” Carlos nodded his back the way he’d come, before looking around to check that there wasn’t anyone else nearby. “I lost him in the trees though, so when I saw a figure in the distance, I thought it might be him.”

TK didn’t need to know that Carlos had lost the suspect because he’d tripped. Especially not while the man was still out here somewhere.

“No, just me.” TK shot him a small smile that Carlos could just make out in the dim light.

TK was just opening his mouth to say something else when Carlos caught movement in the trees behind and to the left of his boyfriend. His gaze snapped to the source of the movement and he realised it actually was the suspect this time, just as the man spotted the two of them. Carlos brought his gun up, but the suspect was just as quick as he had been when fleeing the house. Before Carlos could do anything about it or even shout a warning, the suspect had come up behind TK and wrapped an arm around his neck. TK had just started to turn to see what had caught Carlos’ attention, but froze instantly when he was grabbed.

“Let him go!” Carlos ordered, heart suddenly in his throat.

“Drop the gun or I slit the nice firefighter’s throat!” The suspect moved just enough that Carlos caught sight of the knife that was pressed against the side of TK’s neck, making it abundantly clear why he hadn’t tried to get away.

Carlos hesitated for a moment, reluctant to lower his weapon but also not willing to put TK in danger. Or well, more danger than he was already in.

“You know I’ll do it. If you want him to see Christmas day, drop the gun!”

Fuck.

Carlos spared the briefest moment to look at TK’s wide-eyed expression and sent up a prayer to whoever was listening for his boyfriend’s safety.

“Okay, okay.” Carlos let go with his left hand, and then slowly moved his right hand still holding the gun away from him, making it clear he was cooperating. When his arm was fully extended, he tossed the gun behind him so at least it wouldn’t be in the suspect’s reach, and then held his hands up placatingly.

“Now let him go. Please.”

“I’ll let him go when I’m safely away.” The suspect started backing up, forcing TK to stumble backwards to avoid the knife.

Carlos was just debating his options when a female voice called out, “TK? Where are you?”

Marjan!

TK used the distraction to stomp with his heavy-duty work boot on the suspect’s instep and drive an elbow into his stomach, before throwing himself away from the man. Sprinting towards the suspect, Carlos tackled him to the ground and funnelled his fear and anger at TK being threatened into overpowering the man.

“Over here, Marjan!” TK shouted. “Help!”

Carlos knocked the knife out of the suspect’s hand and threw it away, before forcing him face down and twisting his arms behind his back so he could cuff him. Only when the suspect was cuffed and pinned down by Carlos’ weight on his back, did Carlos finally allow himself to look at TK. His boyfriend was slowly getting back to his feet, a hand against his neck where the knife had been. A flash of light came from the trees and then Marjan appeared out of the darkness, flashlight in hand. She panned the light over the scene, directing the beam away from their eyes as soon as she spotted them.

“How can I help?” She presumably had more questions, but the sight of Carlos pinning a handcuffed man to the ground had her fully in professional mode.

“Help Carlos,” TK said before Carlos had a chance to speak. He still had a hand pressed to his neck, making Carlos frown, but then Marjan stepped in front of him and blocked his view of TK.

“Help me get him up, will you?”

Marjan helped Carlos pull the man to his feet, and then followed Carlos’ lead to firmly grab the suspect’s forearm – one of them on either side of him. Carlos darted away just long enough to retrieve his gun and the knife, stilling when the light from Marjan’s flashlight hit the blade. It was red with blood. The leftover fear that TK might get hurt solidified into an ugly ball of anger and worry at the sudden knowledge that TK was hurt and it was entirely because Carlos hadn’t been quick enough. If he hadn’t lost the suspect earlier, the man wouldn’t have been able to put a knife to TK’s neck, and TK would only be at risk of the usual things that came from being a firefighter. The logical part of Carlos’ brain knew that it wasn’t his fault, but the emotional part was having trouble with the fact that TK had been injured right in front of him. And it hadn’t even been a year since TK had returned to work after being shot.

“How badly are you hurt?” Carlos demanded of TK, whilst wrenching the suspect forward.

“I’m okay,” TK replied, before catching Carlos’ furious look and amending it to, “I’m hurt but I’m not in danger of passing out before we get to the ambulance. I swear.”

Carlos nodded and reminded himself of his training, forcing back the guilt and worry so he could focus on doing his job. “Y’all know how to get back to the crash?”

“This way.” TK gestured off in the direction Marjan had appeared from with his free hand, before pulling out his own flashlight and heading into the trees.

Carlos and Marjan followed, the suspect firmly sandwiched between them. Marjan fumbled with the flashlight for a moment before it became obvious that she was manoeuvring it so she could keep a grip on it whilst also clicking on her radio.

“Cap, I’ve found TK and we’re heading back to you. No sign of another victim, but TK needs medical attention and we’ve got Carlos and a guy in handcuffs with us.”

Carlos tuned out Captain Strand’s response as he took the prompt to radio Georgie again now that he was in a position to do so. “I’ve got the suspect and I’m with a couple of firefighters from the 126. Can you bring the car round to the crew’s location please?”

“Copy that,” Georgie replied before going silent again. Carlos trusted that she’d contact Dispatch to get the 126 crew’s location and turned his attention to the suspect in order to read him his rights.

The four of them broke out of the woods not too long after that, immediately drawing the attention of the other firefighters. Carlos caught the relief in their expressions when they saw that TK was walking under his own steam, although it of course didn’t stop Captain Strand from beckoning over one of the paramedics. Carlos made the suspect sit down next to the fire trucks, so he’d be unlikely to get far if he tried anything, and then carefully transferred the knife he’d been pinching with a latex glove into an evidence bag, trying not to think about the fact that it was TK’s blood coating the blade. Looking across the circle of activity to see Michelle tending to TK’s wound helped a little, reassuring him that his boyfriend was in very capable hands and would be okay.

A few minutes later, Georgie pulled up behind the fire trucks and ambulance and got out of the cruiser, immediately scanning the area for Carlos and the suspect. She greeted several of the other first responders as she passed, beelining for her partner.

“Well done on catching him. I got out of the house and there was no sign of either of you.” She glanced over Carlos, presumably checking that he looked okay, before adding, “I got Dispatch to send a team to process the house.”

“Good, let’s get him back to the station.” Carlos watched as Georgie pulled the suspect to his feet and escorted him to the police cruiser, following behind just in case the man tried something. Once he was safely locked in the back of the car, Carlos signalled to Georgie that he’d just be a minute, before darting back to where TK was perched on the edge of the ladder truck.

“Hello Carlos.” Michelle gave him a soft smile, finished applying a dressing to TK’s wound, and then stepped away to give them space.

“How is it?” Carlos asked moving closer so he could press against TK’s knee.

“It’s not deep. Michelle wants me to get it checked out at the hospital just to be safe, but she says it should heal fine. And don’t you go blaming yourself.” TK gave him a serious look, somehow knowing precisely what Carlos had been trying not to think about. “The knife just nicked me as I threw myself away from him. It wasn’t your fault.”

Carlos opened his mouth to argue but caught himself in time before he actually said anything. He knew TK was right, so even worse than having an argument on Christmas Eve would be having one that Carlos could never win.

“I know, I’m sorry.” He leant in and pressed a lightning quick kiss to TK’s cheek, aware of the fact that they were both working but confident that no one here would begrudge them that small bit of affection. TK’s soft smile in response warmed him right up, making him extremely glad (not for the first time) that they’d been able to work things out between them.

“I have to go so we can get this guy locked up, but we’re still on for tomorrow, right?”

“Definitely.” TK reached out and squeezed Carlos’ hand, before lifting it to his lips and kissing it. “I can’t wait.”

Carlos pulled away reluctantly, before turning and jogging back towards the cruiser, calling out to the others as he did so.

“Merry Christmas y’all!”

*

The next morning, Carlos knocked on the Strands’ front door and was immediately greeted by the sound of Buttercup’s low woofing. A few moments later, TK pulled open the door with one hand on Buttercup’s collar to keep him inside.

“Merry Christmas!” Carlos grinned at the sight and hurried inside so TK could shut the door again. Then he pulled his boyfriend into a warm hug.

He felt TK’s breath on his neck as he returned the greeting. “Merry Christmas to you too.”

They pulled apart just enough to share a slow, soft kiss, TK’s hand moving up from Carlos’ shoulder to cup the back of his head. Carlos melted into the kiss, thinking that the day was already shaping up to be one of the best Christmases ever, and let the lingering worry about TK’s injury flow off him.

While Owen was presumably giving them time to ‘say hello’, Buttercup didn’t have that same respect. After a minute or two, he clearly got fed up with not being the centre of attention and woofed to make his displeasure known. Carlos broke away from TK with a laugh and crouched down to pet Buttercup instead.

“I’m sorry boy, clearly you should be at the top of my priority list. Your owner is just really distracting.”

He glanced up to see TK with his phone out, looking unrepentant and like he’d just taken a photo. Deciding that there were way worse things he could be photographed doing, and that he couldn’t not encourage the almost heart eyed look TK was giving him, he wrapped his arm around Buttercup’s neck and pulled the dog in for a hug so they were both looking at least vaguely in the direction of the camera. He waited for TK to take another photo, before giving Buttercup’s head one last rub and standing up again.

“That’s definitely going as my new lock screen.” TK showed Carlos the photo and then finally ushered him out of the hallway towards the living room. Buttercup padded past them to flop down in the dog bed by the Christmas tree, seemingly satisfied now he’d had affection from the new arrival.

Owen was sitting in the armchair with a book that Carlos remembered TK buying a couple of weeks ago, but he set it down as soon as they entered the room, standing up so he could give Carlos a firm hug.

“Happy Christmas!”

While Owen set about making Carlos a cup of coffee, Carlos pulled the gifts he’d brought out of his bag and set them under the tree with a couple that he noticed had his name written on them, and a few more that appeared to be for other friends and family. Then he retreated to curl up on the sofa with TK, basking in the warmth of his boyfriend pressed against him and the sounds of soft Christmas music playing from the speaker in the corner.

“Okay, time for presents,” TK decreed, once his dad was back and Carlos had taken a few sips of coffee. He slid off the sofa and settled on the floor by the tree, before picking up the closest present which happened to be Carlos’ for Buttercup.

“This one’s for you because Carlos also thinks you’re a good boy!” TK waved the gift at Buttercup, letting the dog take it from his hand but keeping a close eye as Buttercup shredded the wrapping paper, making sure he didn’t accidentally eat any of it. The present was a short length of rope with a knot at each end, designed for playing tug of war, although for now Buttercup seemed happy to just hold it in his mouth. Clearly, he was as onboard with the lazy morning as the rest of them.

The paper safely out of the way and Buttercup resettled in his bed with his new toy, TK turned to the next gift. He glanced at the name on it, then he held it out to Carlos. “This is from dad.”

Carlos unwrapped it carefully to reveal a giftbox containing several small tubes and pots that, at a glance, appeared to be a full skincare set.

“It’s all specifically for your skin type,” Owen explained, looking pleased.

“Aw, thanks. I’ve been running low.” It all looked fancier than Carlos’ normal products, but he supposed that was the advantage of a Christmas gift. He didn’t have to worry about how much it cost.

“A little birdy may have told me that.” Owen grinned at his son, who in return handed him a gift.

It was clearly a bottle bag with Owen’s name scrawled across the tag in Carlos’ messy handwriting, and a few moments later, the bag was on the floor and Owen was holding a bottle of Tequila 512 Añejo.

“It’s imported by a local business.” Carlos told him, before reaching out with his foot to nudge TK. “Your turn.”

TK obediently picked up the gift for him and tore the wrapping paper off, almost as messily as Buttercup had. Carlos snickered at the thought but was saved from having to explain his amusement by TK making an appreciative noise as he held up the super soft hoodie that Carlos had to buy as soon as he saw (and then felt) it.

“I love it!” TK was already pulling the Christmas sweater he was wearing over his head, so his voice was a bit muffled although his enthusiasm more than made up for it.

Carlos watched as TK swapped the sweater for the new hoodie and didn’t even try to hide his happy smile when TK found the thumbholes in the cuffs. Grabbing the last gift to be opened that morning, TK gave Carlos a chaste kiss as he settled back on the sofa, before handing over the gift.

“This one’s from me.”

Unwrapping the present as carefully as he’d opened the first, Carlos found two items. The first was a braided leather bracelet that he guessed was from one of the craftspeople at the holiday craft market, which he immediately slipped around his wrist next to the other two bracelets he was wearing, before turning his attention to the second item. It was a glasses case, and when he opened it, he was greeted by what looked like his own sunglasses nestled inside.

“They look just like my sunglasses.” He stated, raising an eyebrow at TK.

“I figured I should get you another pair, seeing how often I steal yours.” TK grinned at him, not looking at all guilty at his admission.

“You could always get your own sunglasses,” Carlos retorted, although he was fairly sure he had a rather sappy look on his face.

“I have some. But yours are better.” TK laughed outright when Carlos rolled his eyes, but he could admit especially to himself that he liked the idea of TK wearing his things, even if it was just sunglasses.

He set the glasses case on the coffee table and then wrapped his arm around TK’s shoulders, kissing his cheek before turning to look at Owen too.

“Thank you for the presents and for inviting me over.” He gave both of them a warm smile, so grateful that he got to spend this time with them.

“Thank you too,” Owen replied, with an equally welcoming smile. “And you’re welcome here anytime. You’re family now.”

Carlos hugged TK tighter and amended his earlier thought - it wasn’t one of the best Christmases ever, it was _the_ best.


End file.
